Tech Shares May Boost South Korea Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, sinking almost 170 points or 4.1 percent in that span. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 4,000-point plateau although it's due for support on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets offers little clarity, although any lack of general support should be limited by support from the technology shares. The European markets were soft and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KOSPI finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks, chemical companies and automobile producers.

For the day, the index plunged 91.46 points or 2.24 percent to finish at 3,999.13 after trading between 3,996.23 and 4,099.01. Volume was 368.6 million shares worth 16.3 trillion won. There were 713 decliners and 184 gainers.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial retreated 1.81 percent, while KB Financial dropped 0.96 percent, Hana Financial collected 0.54 percent, Samsung Electronics tumbled 1.91 percent, Samsung SDI cratered 3.14 percent, LG Electronics tanked 2.72 percent, SK Hynix plunged 4.33 percent, Naver crashed 3.74 percent, LG Chem surrendered 4.07 percent, Lotte Chemical skidded 1.08 percent, SK Innovation contracted 2.75 percent, POSCO Holdings slumped 3.14 percent, SK Telecom dropped 1.12 percent, KEPCO gained 0.60 percent, Hyundai Mobis sank 2.06 percent, Hyundai Motor stumbled 2.56 percent and Kia Motors lost 2.58 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages hugged the line from below for most of the day, although the NASDAQ managed to break into the green.

The Dow slumped 302.30 points or 0.62 percent to finish at 48,114.26, while the NASDAQ added 54.05 points or 0.23 percent to close at 23,111.46 and the S&P 500 slipped 16.25 points or 0.24 percent to end at 6,800.26.

The choppy trading on Wall Street followed the release of the Labor Department's report on employment in November.

Most economists said the data has increased the likelihood the Federal Reserve will continue cutting interest rates in the near future, but the report also raised concerns about the strength of the economy.

A separate report released by the Commerce Department showed retail sales in the U.S. were roughly flat in October.

Crude oil prices extended recent losses Tuesday on lingering oversupply concerns, especially if an end to hostilities between Russia and Ukraine could exacerbate the supply glut. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was down $1.57 or 2.8 percent to $55.25 per barrel.